US9730135B1 - Radio access network resource configuration for groups of mobile devices - Google Patents

Abstract

A device, computer-readable medium, and method for activating antennas based upon a location and a movement of a group of mobile endpoint devices are disclosed. For example, a method may include a processor of a cellular network detecting a group of mobile endpoint devices associated with a first location and activating a first antenna at a first cell site of the cellular network associated with the first location, in response to detecting the group of mobile endpoint devices. The processor may further detect a movement of the group of mobile endpoint devices toward a second location, and activate a second antenna at a second cell site of the cellular network associated with the second location and deactivate the first antenna, in response to detecting the movement of the group of mobile endpoint devices toward the second location.

Description

The present disclosure relates generally to methods, computer-readable media and devices for activating antennas based upon a location and a movement of a group of mobile endpoint devices.

BACKGROUND

Upgrading a telecommunication network to a software defined network (SDN) architecture implies replacing or augmenting existing network elements that may be integrated to perform a single function with new network elements. The replacement technology may comprise a substrate of networking capability, often called network function virtualization infrastructure (NFVI) that is capable of being directed with software and SDN protocols to perform a broad variety of network functions and services. Different locations in the telecommunication network may be provisioned with appropriate amounts of network substrate, and to the extent possible, routers, switches, edge caches, middle-boxes, and the like may be instantiated from the common resource pool.

SUMMARY

In one example, the present disclosure discloses a device, computer-readable medium, and method for activating antennas based upon a location and a movement of a group of mobile endpoint devices. For example, a method may include a processor of a cellular network detecting a group of mobile endpoint devices associated with a first location and activating a first antenna at a first cell site of the cellular network associated with the first location, in response to detecting the group of mobile endpoint devices. The processor may further detect a movement of the group of mobile endpoint devices toward a second location, activate a second antenna at a second cell site of the cellular network associated with the second location, in response to detecting the movement of the group of mobile endpoint devices toward the second location, and deactivate the first antenna, in response to detecting the movement of the group of mobile endpoint devices toward the second location.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The teachings of the present disclosure can be readily understood by considering the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system related to the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates an additional example system related to the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for activating antennas based upon a location and a movement of a group of mobile endpoint devices; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a high-level block diagram of a computing device specially configured to perform the functions, methods, operations and algorithms described herein.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure broadly discloses methods, computer-readable media and apparatuses for activating antennas based upon a location and a movement of a group of mobile endpoint devices. Examples of the present disclosure increase situational awareness within a cellular network by leveraging analytics to predict specific edge network location bandwidth needs and mitigating the bandwidth needs by invoking radio access network (RAN) and distributed core network self-optimizing network (SON) feature automation. Examples of the present disclosure utilize network operation and network device location data, in addition to mobile endpoint device data to predict consumption trends and the throughput density needs for popular applications and services. By tracking users' mobile endpoint devices, examples of the present disclosure estimate in real-time where, when, and how many mobile endpoint devices will need bandwidth, and the types and quantities of bandwidth that are needed. This information is collected in real-time such that a SON orchestrator may determine where and how many resources, such as remote radio heads and baseband units, should be activated at a given site. For example, the throughput density needs for the most popular applications or services can be predicted. As a consequence, the SON orchestrator may acquire enough information to allocate the access resources (e.g., remote radio heads and baseband units) to the relevant locations so that consumption peaks are absorbed smoothly without compromising quality of service (QoS), user experience, and customer satisfaction.

Examples of the present disclosure account for the capabilities and needs of mobile endpoint devices, in addition to the availability and locations of network resources. For instance, a mobile endpoint device may have multiple radios for communication via different frequency bands and/or utilizing different technologies. The mobile endpoint device may have all of its radios turned on, and may be connected to the appropriate network resources depending on what is nearby and what kind of application(s) is/are being used. In addition, in one example, a SON orchestrator may further include or coordinate with a software-defined network (SDN) controller to deploy additional network-based resources, such as virtual network functions (VNFs), or “virtual machines,” instantiated on host devices. For instance, host devices, which may also be referred to as network function virtualization infrastructure (NFVI), may be configured or reconfigured to function as additional routers, gateways, switches, and the like to support the additional bandwidth and traffic that may result from the activation of the one or more additional antennas at a cell site.

Examples of the present disclosure may relate to detecting groups of mobile endpoint devices that are collocated and which are moving in a same direction, and activating or allocating network resources based upon the current location of the group, and based upon a detection of a movement of the group toward another location. In one example, the group of mobile endpoint devices may also be utilizing a same application or service, or similar applications or services. For instance, a large number of users may be participating in a parade or demonstration with a route through a city. During the parade, the users may take many pictures or videos and upload the media to social media accounts or media sharing sites, may send the media to friends and family via email, multimedia messaging, and so forth. The users may similarly place many phone calls during the event. In one example, the users may specifically be utilizing the same shared application that has been designated for use during the event, such as uploading pictures to a particular hashtag related to a group chat application.

Examples of the present disclosure may account for the aggregate bandwidth needs of the group of mobile endpoint devices by determining, e.g., by a SON orchestrator, the congregation of mobile endpoint devices at a first location and activating or allocating network resources based upon the number of devices, the actual or anticipated bandwidth utilizations of the mobile endpoint devices, and so forth. For instance, the SON orchestrator may activate one or more antennas/remote radio heads of a higher frequency band relative to antennas of lower frequency bands that may be available (e.g., using antennas for a 1900 MHz band instead of antennas for an 850 MHz band). For instance, the mobile endpoint devices in the group may primarily be outdoors where the 1900 MHz band better protects against inter-cell interference, and where the better in-building signal penetration of the 850 MHz band is less important. In another example, the group of mobile endpoint devices may primarily be engaged in voice calls or data usage (e.g., utilizing a multimedia messaging application) which may warrant utilizing the 850 MHz band or the 1900 MHz band, respectively. In one example, the SON orchestrator may further allocate one or more baseband units to the one or more antennas that are activated, e.g., in a cloud radio access network (RAN) environment. For instance, in a cloud RAN, the antennas/remote radio heads may be located on rooftops, or at the top of a cell site mast, whereas the baseband units may be located at an entirely different location, and where a pool of baseband units may be available to service multiple cell sites and/or multiple antennas/remote radio heads that may be deployed at different locations.

In one example, a SON orchestrator may further activate and allocate one or more antennas and baseband units associated with a different cell site as the group of mobile endpoint devices moves from one location to another. The SON orchestrator may further de-activate the antenna(s) at the first cell site and de-allocate the baseband unit(s) allocated to such antennas when the group of mobile endpoint devices has moved beyond the first location. It should be noted that the terms “activate” and “de-activate” encompass the scope of causing the antenna to be able to receive signals (e.g., the antenna is activated) and not be able to receive signals (e.g., the antenna is deactivated). Any number of approaches can be employed to bring about the activation and deactivation of an antenna, e.g., providing or removing power to the antenna, and so on. These and other aspects of the present disclosure are discussed in greater detail below in connection with the examples ofFIGS. 1-4.

In addition, it should be noted that as referred to herein, the terms “configure” and “reconfigure” may refer to programming or loading a computing device with computer-readable/computer-executable instructions, code, and/or programs, e.g., in a memory, which when executed by a processor of the computing device, may cause the computing device to perform various functions. Such terms may also encompass providing variables, data values, tables, objects, or other data structures or the like which may cause a computer device executing computer-readable instructions, code, and/or programs to function differently depending upon the values of the variables or other data structures that are provided.

To better understand the present disclosure,FIG. 1 illustrates an example network, orsystem100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure for activating antennas based upon a location and a movement of a group of mobile endpoint devices may operate. In one example, thesystem100 comprises a cellular network101 (e.g., a 4G/Long Term Evolution (LTE) network), anIP network113, and a core network, e.g., an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)core network115. In one example,system100 is provided and operated by a cellular/wireless network operator.FIG. 1 also illustrates variousmobile endpoint devices116 and117, e.g., user equipment or user endpoints (UE). The mobile endpoint devices UE116 and117 may each comprise a cellular telephone, a smartphone, a tablet computing device, a laptop computer, a pair of computing glasses, a wireless enabled wristwatch, or any other cellular-capable mobile telephony and computing device (broadly, “mobile endpoint devices”). In one example, theLTE network101 comprises an access network103 and a core network, Evolved Packet Core (EPC)network105. In one example, the access network103 comprises a cloud RAN. For instance, a cloud RAN is part of the 3^rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) 5G specifications for mobile networks. As part of the migration of cellular networks towards 5G, a cloud RAN may be coupled to an EPC network until new cellular core networks are deployed in accordance with 5G specifications. In this regard, access network103 may includecell sites111 and112 and a baseband unit (BBU)pool114. In a cloud RAN, antennas, also referred to as remote radio heads, are deployed remotely from baseband units, e.g., atop cell site masts, buildings, and so forth. In one example, the BBUpool114 may be located at distances as far as 20-80 kilometers or more away from the antennas/remote radio heads ofcell sites111 and112 that are serviced by the BBUpool114. It should also be noted in accordance with efforts to migrate to 5G networks, cell sites may be deployed with new antenna and radio infrastructures such as multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antennas, and millimeter wave antennas. In this regard, the cell, e.g., the footprint or coverage area of a cell site may in some instances be smaller than the coverage provided by NodeBs or eNodeBs of 3G-4G RAN infrastructure. For example, the coverage of a cell site utilizing one or more millimeter wave antennas may be 1000 feet or less.

In one example, theEPC network105 provides various functions that support wireless services in the LTE environment. In one example,EPC network105 is an Internet Protocol (IP) packet core network that supports both real-time and non-real-time service delivery across a LTE network, e.g., as specified by the 3GPP standards. In one example, all cell sites in the access network103 are in communication with theEPC network105 via baseband units inBBU pool114. In operation, mobileendpoint device UE116 may access wireless services via thecell site111 and mobileendpoint device UE117 may access wireless services via thecell site112 located in the access network103. It should be noted that any number of cell sites can be deployed in access network. In one illustrative example, the access network103 may comprise one or more cell sites.

InEPC network105, network devices such as Mobility Management Entity (MME)107 and Serving Gateway (SGW)108 support various functions as part of theLTE network101. For example,MME107 is the control node for the LTE access network. In one embodiment,MME107 is responsible for UE (User Equipment) tracking and paging (e.g., such as retransmissions), bearer activation and deactivation process, selection of the SGW, and authentication of a user. In one embodiment,SGW108 routes and forwards user data packets, while also acting as the mobility anchor for the user plane during inter-cell handovers and as the anchor for mobility between LTE and other wireless technologies, such as 2G and 3G wireless networks.

In addition,EPC network105 may comprise a Home Subscriber Server (HSS)109 that contains subscription-related information (e.g., subscriber profiles), performs authentication and authorization of a wireless service user, and provides information about the subscriber's location. TheEPC network105 may also comprise a public data network (PDN)gateway110 which serves as a gateway that provides access between theEPC network105 and various data networks, e.g.,other IP networks113, anIMS core network115, and the like. The public data network gateway is also referred to as a PDN gateway, a PDN GW or a PGW. In addition, theEPC network105 may include a Diameter routing agent (DRA)106, which may be engaged in the proper routing of messages between other elements withinEPC network105, and with other components of thesystem100, such as a call session control function (CSCF) (not shown) inIMS core network115. For clarity, the connections betweenDRA106 and other components ofEPC network105 are omitted from the illustration ofFIG. 1.

In accordance with the present disclosure, any one or more of the components ofEPC network105 may comprise network function virtualization infrastructure (NFVI), e.g., SDN host devices (i.e., physical devices) configured to operate as various virtual network functions (VNFs), such as a virtual MME (vMME), a virtual HHS (vHSS), a virtual serving gateway (vSGW), a virtual packet data network gateway (vPGW), and so forth. For instance,MME107 may comprise a vMME,SGW108 may comprise a vSGW, and so forth. In this regard, theEPC network105 may be expanded (or contracted) to include more or less components than the state ofEPC network105 that is illustrated inFIG. 1. For instance,EPC network105 may be expanded to include additional PDN gateways, e.g., in the form of vPGWs, additional serving gateways (SGWs), e.g., in the form of vSGWs, and so forth. In one example, the SDN host devices may be deployed in one or more geographically diverse data centers. Accordingly, in one example, the network may be segregated into a number of zones, where different VNFs may be deployed in different zones depending upon the respective locations of the one or more data centers.

In one example, theEPC network105 may also include an application server (AS)190. In one example, AS190 may function as a self-optimizing network (SON) orchestrator that is responsible for activating and deactivating, allocating and deallocating, and otherwise managing a variety of network components. For instance, AS190 may activate and deactivate antennas/remote radio heads ofcell sites111 and112, respectively, may allocate and deactivate baseband units inBBU pool114, and may perform other operations for activating antennas based upon a location and a movement of a group of mobile endpoint devices, in accordance with the present disclosure. In one example, AS190 may comprise a computing system, such ascomputing system400 depicted inFIG. 4, and may be configured to provide one or more functions for activating antennas based upon a location and a movement of a group of mobile endpoint devices, and for performing various other operations in accordance with the present disclosure. For instance, AS190 may be configured to perform functions such as those described below in connection with theexample method300 ofFIG. 3. Accordingly, theAS190 may be connected directly or indirectly to any one or more network elements ofEPC network105, and of thesystem100 in general, that are configured to gather and forward network analytic information, such as signaling and traffic data, alarm data, and other information and statistics to AS190 and to receive instructions fromAS190.

In one example, AS190 may further comprise a SDN controller that is responsible for instantiating, configuring, managing, and releasing VNFs. For example, in a SDN architecture, a SDN controller may instantiate VNFs on shared hardware, e.g., NFVI/host devices/SDN nodes, which may be physically located in various places. For example SDN nodes may reside in various data centers distributed in different locations. For example, a router may be instantiated on a SDN node, and released when the router is no longer needed. Similarly, a media server may be instantiated on a SDN node, and released when no longer needed. In one example, the configuring, releasing, and reconfiguring of SDN nodes is controlled by the SDN controller, which may store configuration codes, e.g., computer/processor-executable programs, instructions, or the like for various functions which can be loaded onto an SDN node. In another example, the SDN controller may instruct, or request an SDN node to retrieve appropriate configuration codes from a network-based repository, e.g., a storage device, to relieve the SDN controller from having to store and transfer configuration codes for various functions to the SDN nodes.

In accordance with the present disclosure, AS190 may therefore control various components withinEPC network105 and/or within access network103 to support the traffic that is accommodated by the activation of antennas/remote radio heads ofcell sites111 and112, respectively and the allocation of baseband units inBBU pool114. For instance, AS190 (e.g., performing functions of a SON orchestrator) may activate an antenna ofcell site111 and assign a baseband unit inBBU pool114 when a group of mobile endpoint devices is detected near thecell site111. AS190 (e.g., performing functions of a SDN controller) may further instantiate VNFs to function as routers, switches, gateways, and the like to ensure that sufficient backhaul resources are available for the traffic to transit the access network103 and/orEPC network105. In addition, as mentioned above, any one or more of theDRA106,MME107,SGW108,HSS109, andPGW110 may comprise VNFs instantiated on host devices. As such, AS190 may perform similar operations to instantiate, configure, reconfigure, and decommission such components in support of examples of the present disclosure for activating antennas based upon a location and a movement of a group of mobile endpoint devices. In one example, AS190 may communicate with various components ofEPC network105 and access network103 in order to gather information in support of operations for activating antennas based upon a location and a movement of a group of mobile endpoint devices. For instance, in one example, AS190 may gather mobile endpoint device location information and mobile endpoint device application/service utilization information fromcell sites111 and112. In one example, AS190 may further gather status information regardingcell sites111 and112 andBBU pool114. For example, AS190 may obtain information regarding the current traffic loads atcell sites111 and112, daily and hourly peak traffic loads, the available bandwidth for active antennas, the number of deactivated antennas, and so forth, the current traffic load of allocated baseband units inBBU pool114, the number of available baseband units that are not currently allocated, and so forth. Alternatively, or in addition, AS190 may gather status information, such as a current load, a current capacity, a daily or hourly peak load, and so forth fromMME107,SGW108, and/orPGW110, where such information may be used by AS190 to determine whether additional MMEs, SGWs, PGWs, and other intermediate components should be deployed to accommodate anticipated increases in traffic from a group of mobile endpoint devices. Due to the relatively large number of connections available betweenAS190 and other network elements, none of the actual links to the application server are shown inFIG. 1. Similarly, intermediate devices and links betweenDRA106,MME107,SGW108,eNodeBs111 and112,PDN gateway110, and other components ofsystem100 are also omitted for clarity, such as additional routers, switches, gateways, and the like.

The foregoing description of thesystem100 is provided as an illustrative example only. In other words, the example ofsystem100 is merely illustrative of one network configuration that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. As such, other logical and/or physical arrangements for thesystem100 may be implemented in accordance with the present disclosure. For example, thesystem100 may be expanded to include additional networks, such as network operations center (NOC) networks, additional access networks, and so forth. Thesystem100 may also be expanded to include additional network elements such as border elements, routers, switches, policy servers, security devices, gateways, a content distribution network (CDN) and the like, without altering the scope of the present disclosure. In addition,system100 may be altered to omit various elements, substitute elements for devices that perform the same or similar functions, combine elements that are illustrated as separate devices, and/or implement network elements as functions that are spread across several devices that operate collectively as the respective network elements. For instance, in one example, AS190 may be spilt into separate components to operate as a SON orchestrator and a SDN controller, respectively. Similarly, although theAS190 is illustrated as a component ofEPC network105, in another example AS190, and/or other network components may be deployed in anIMS core network115 instead of being deployed within theEPC network105, or in other portions ofsystem100 that are not shown, while providing essentially the same functionality.

In addition, although aspects of the present disclosure have been discussed above in the context of a long term evolution (LTE)-based wireless network, examples of the present disclosure are not so limited. Thus, the teachings of the present disclosure can be applied to other types of wireless networks (e.g., a 2G network, a 3G network, a 5G network, an integrated network, e.g., including any two or more of 2G-5G infrastructure and technologies, and the like), that are suitable for use in connection with examples of the present disclosure for activating antennas based upon a location and a movement of a group of mobile endpoint devices. Thus, these and other modifications are all contemplated within the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an additional example network, orsystem200 in which embodiments of the present disclosure for activating antennas based upon a location and a movement of a group of mobile endpoint devices may operate. In one example,system200 may represent at least a portion of a cellular/wireless network. For instance,system200 may represent certain self-optimizing network (SON) aspects of the network, orsystem100 ofFIG. 1. As illustrated inFIG. 2,system200 may include aSON orchestrator250, e.g., a server having at least a processor and a computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform functions for activating antennas based upon a location and a movement of a group of mobile endpoint devices, and for performing various other operations in accordance with the present disclosure. In one embodiment, theSON orchestrator250 may correspond to AS190 of the example ofFIG. 1. In one embodiment, theSON orchestrator250 may comprise a computing system, such ascomputing system400 depicted inFIG. 4. In one embodiment, theSON orchestrator250 may comprise a plurality of devices that may be co-located, or in distributed locations, and that perform coordinated functions of an SON orchestrator, as described herein.

Thesystem200 may also includeantennas291 and292, which may comprise components of different cell sites associated withdifferent locations230 and235, respectively. In one example, thefirst location230 and thesecond location235 may comprise respective “geofences” surrounding theantenna291 and theantenna292, respectively. For instance, in one example, thefirst location230 may comprise an RF coverage area of theantenna291, and the second location232 may comprise an RF coverage area of theantenna292.Antennas291 and292 may also be connected to aBBU pool240 with a number of baseband units (BBUs)241-244. As illustrated inFIG. 1, theBBU pool240 may be connected to theSON orchestrator250. It should be noted that the links betweenantennas291 and292 and theBBU pool240, and betweenBBU pool240 andSON orchestrator250 may be direct links, e.g., optical or electrical links without intervening components, or may include any number of intermediate devices, such as additional routers, switches, repeaters, and so forth. It should also be noted that althoughantennas291 and292 are illustrated inFIG. 2 as being connected to SON orchestrator viaBBU pool240, in another example, the SON orchestrator andantennas291 and292 may be connected via different paths with different links and/or intermediate devices, and which do not includeBBU pool240.

As further illustrated inFIG. 2, a number of mobile endpoint devices201-219 may receive cellular services from thesystem200. The SON orchestrator250 may be in communication with the cell sites ofantennas291 and292 to receive information regarding the locations of various mobile endpoint devices. For example, theSON orchestrator250 may determine the locations of the mobile endpoint devices if the mobile endpoint devices transmit Global Positioning System (GPS) location readings to theSON orchestrator250, or to another network-based device that is accessible to theSON orchestrator250, or may determine the locations of the mobile endpoint devices in another way, such as using cellular base station triangulation techniques, or by estimating the locations of the mobile endpoint devices based upon received signal strength indicators (RSSIs), the serving base stations/cell sites, nearby Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 access points or IEEE 802.15 beacons, and so forth. In one example,SON orchestrator250 may further gather status information regarding the cell sites ofantennas291 and292, and ofBBU pool240. For example,SON orchestrator250 may obtain information regarding the current traffic loads at the cell sites, daily and hourly peak traffic loads, the available bandwidth for active antennas, the number of deactivated antennas, and so forth, the current traffic load of allocated baseband units inBBU pool240, the number of available baseband units that are not currently allocated, and so forth.

In one example,SON orchestrator250 may determine that a number of mobile endpoint devices may comprise a group at thefirst location230. For example,SON orchestrator250 may determine that mobile endpoint devices201-215 are all at or within thefirst location230, and thus may consider that all of mobile endpoint devices201-215 are members of a group at thefirst location230. In one example,SON orchestrator250 may consider other factors in determining which mobile endpoint devices may comprise a group. For example, theSON orchestrator250 may determine that mobile endpoint devices201-215 are utilizing the same or similar applications or services, such as voice call applications, email applications, text messaging applications, multimedia messaging applications, social media applications, gaming applications, and so forth. In one example,SON orchestrator250 may also determine that at least endpoint devices201-215 comprise a group if the mobile endpoint devices201-215 share a same general direction of movement. For example, mobile endpoint devices201-215 may be determined to be moving in the direction indicated by thearrow270. In one example, the direction(s) of movement of mobile endpoint devices may be determined using the same or similar information that is utilized to determine the positions of the mobile endpoint devices, e.g., using changes in GPS location Information over time, or the like. It should be noted that in one example, the SON coordinator may also determine that mobile endpoint devices216-219 are part of the group even though the mobile endpoint devices216-219 are not strictly within thefirst region230. For instance, mobile endpoint devices216-219 may be observed to be nearby to other mobile endpoint devices that are within the group (e.g., mobile endpoint devices201-215) and may also be observed to be moving in the same general direction as indicated by thearrow270. Thus, in one example, mobile endpoint devices216-219 may be sufficiently associated with mobile endpoint devices201-215, e.g., in terms of being within a certain proximity, having a same general direction of movement, and/or having the same or similar application/service usage profile. However, for illustrative purposes, the present example will consider the group as including mobile endpoint devices201-215 and excluding mobile endpoint devices216-219.

In one example, theSON orchestrator250 may determine the traffic load, or the anticipated traffic load of the group of mobile endpoint devices201-215. For instance, a collective traffic load and/or network utilization level of the mobile endpoint devices201-215 for a given time period may be used to predict the traffic load and/or network utilization level at a current or future time period. In particular, it may be assumed that the traffic load and/or network utilization level may continue to be the same for a time period of the same duration. In one example, theSON orchestrator250 may determine that the traffic load and/or network utilization level relates to a particular application or service, or a class of applications or services. For instance, as mentioned above, the mobile endpoint devices201-215 may be found to be utilizing the same or similar applications and/or the SON orchestrator may determine a most popular application being used among the mobile endpoint devices201-215.

In addition, in one example,SON orchestrator250 may allocate one or more antennas, e.g.,antenna291, and one or more baseband units, e.g.,baseband unit244, based upon the presence of the group of mobile endpoint devices201-215 at thefirst location230. For instance, when the group of mobile endpoint devices201-215 is present at thefirst location230 and when the anticipated traffic load and/or network utilization level may exceed the current capacity of a cell site associated with thefirst location230, theSON orchestrator250 may activateantenna291. In addition, theSON orchestrator250 may allocatebaseband unit244 to theantenna291, as well as ensure that additional resources, such as backhaul links, are in place to support thebaseband unit244 andantenna291. Accordingly, thesystem200 may then provide network services to mobile endpoint devices201-215 viaantenna291. It should be noted that one or more additional antennas and/or baseband units may be activated and/or allocated for groups of mobile endpoint devices at or near one or both of the cell sites associated withantennas291 and292, respectively. However, until such time as these additional resources are deployed, the mobile endpoint devices may communicate with network based devices, such asSON orchestrator250 using other access network infrastructures, such as other currently active antennas as the respective cell sites, and so forth.

In one example, theantenna291 is selected for activation based upon a type of application utilized by the mobile endpoint devices201-215, e.g., a primary type of application, such a most popular application that is in use among the mobile endpoint devices in the group. For example, theantenna291 may be selected from among a plurality of antennas at a cell site associated with thefirst location230, wherein the plurality of antennas includes antennas for different frequency bands. To illustrate, the group of mobile endpoint devices201-215 may primarily be engaged in voice calls or data usage (e.g., utilizing a multimedia messaging application) which may warrant utilizing an antenna for the 850 MHz band or the 1900 MHz band, respectively.

As mentioned above,SON orchestrator250 may also determine a direction of movement of the group of mobile endpoint devices201-215. For instance, the group of mobile endpoint devices201-215 may generally be moving in the direction ofarrow270, e.g., toward thesecond location235. In one example, the direction of movement of the group may be determined from location information of the mobile endpoint devices, as described above. However, in one example,SON orchestrator250 may determine that the group of mobile endpoint devices201-215 may be moving toward thesecond location235 when it is detected that a threshold number of mobile endpoint devices from the group are present within a geofence associated with thesecond location235. For instance, at an instant in time as illustrated inFIG. 2, endpoint devices201-205 are also present at or within thesecond location235. Thus, if a threshold is set at 30 percent of the group, it may be determined that at that instant in time as illustrated inFIG. 2, the group of mobile endpoint devices201-215 is moving toward thesecond location235.

In one example,SON orchestrator250 may also activate one or more antennas of a cell site associated with thesecond location235, e.g.,antenna292, and allocate one or more baseband units ofBBU pool240, e.g.,BBU243, to theantenna292, when it is detected that the group of mobile endpoint devices201-215 is moving toward thesecond location235. For instance, when it is detected that the group of mobile endpoint devices201-215 is moving toward thesecond location235 and when the anticipated traffic load and/or network utilization level may exceed the current capacity of a cell site associated with thesecond location235, theSON orchestrator250 may activateantenna292. In addition, theSON orchestrator250 may allocatebaseband unit243 to theantenna292, as well as ensure that additional resources, such as backhaul links, are in place to support thebaseband unit243 andantenna292. Accordingly, thesystem200 may then provide network services to mobile endpoint devices201-215 viaantenna292. In addition,SON orchestrator250 may deactivateantenna291 anddeallocate baseband unit244 in conjunction with the activating of theantenna292 and allocation ofbaseband unit243, e.g., at or around the same time, or at a different time, such as when 60 percent of the group has moved to thesecond location235 or when 60 percent of the group has left thefirst location230, and so forth.

It should be noted that the foregoing describes just one example in connection withFIG. 2 for detecting a group of mobile endpoint devices that are collocated and which are moving in a same direction, and activating or allocating network resources based upon the current location of the group, and based upon a detection of a movement of the group toward another location. For instance, in a different example, additional antennas at each cell site associated withlocations230 and235, and/or additional baseband units may be activated and allocated. In another example, different BBU pools may be available such thatantennas291 and292 may be allocated baseband units from different BBU pools. Thus, these and other variations are all contemplated within the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of anexample method300 for activating antennas based upon a location and a movement of a group of mobile endpoint devices. In one embodiment, the steps, operations or functions of themethod300 may be performed by any one or more of the components of thesystem100 depicted inFIG. 1 or thesystem200 ofFIG. 2. For example, in one embodiment, themethod300 is performed by the application server (AS)190. In another embodiment, themethod300 is performed byAS190 in coordination with other components of thesystem100. In another example, themethod300 is performed bySON orchestrator250 ofFIG. 2, or bySON orchestrator250 in conjunction with other components of thesystem200. Alternatively, or in addition, one or more steps, operations or functions of themethod300 may be implemented by a computing device having a processor, a memory and Input/output devices as illustrated below inFIG. 4, specifically programmed to perform the steps, functions and/or operations of the method. Although any one of the elements insystem100 ofFIG. 1 orsystem200 ofFIG. 2 may be configured to perform various steps, operations or functions of themethod300, the method will now be described in terms of an embodiment where steps of the method are performed by a processor, such asprocessor402 inFIG. 4. For example,processor402 may be deployed in a cellular network to perform themethod300.

Themethod300 begins instep305 and proceeds to step310. Instep310, the processor detects a group of mobile endpoint devices associated with a first location. In one example, step310 may include detecting a number of mobile endpoint devices greater than a threshold number of mobile endpoint devices having a same direction of movement and present at or within the first location, e.g., within a geofence associated with the first location, wherein the number of mobile endpoint devices comprises the group of mobile endpoint devices. In one example, the processor may determine the locations of the mobile endpoint devices from GPS location readings sent by the mobile endpoint devices to the processor or to another network-based device that is accessible to the processor, or may determine the locations of the mobile endpoint devices in another way, such as using cellular base station triangulation techniques, or by estimating the locations of the mobile endpoint devices based upon RSSIs, the serving base stations/cell sites, nearby IEEE 802.11 access points or IEEE 802.15 beacons, and so forth. In addition, in one example, the processor may determine the directions of movement of the mobile endpoint devices in the group using the same or similar information. For instance, the processor may determine the direction of movement for a mobile endpoint device based upon a change in location as indicated by GPS location information of the mobile endpoint device over a given time period.

Atoptional step315, the processor may detect a type of application being used by the group of mobile endpoint devices. The type of application may be a primary application or service that is being used by the group of mobile endpoint devices, e.g., the most popular application or the most heavily utilized application among the mobile endpoint devices in the group. In one example, the processor may associate mobile endpoint devices with the group when the mobile endpoint devices are collocated, e.g., the devices are at the same location, have a same direction of movement, and are utilizing the same application or service, or the same type of application or service as the other mobile endpoint devices in the group. For instance, mobile endpoint devices that are using a group chat application, and which are collocated and have a same direction of movement may be considered to be in the group.

Atoptional step320, the processor may select a first antenna at a first cell site for activation based upon the type of application. In one example, the first antenna may be selected from among a plurality of antennas at the first cell site, wherein the plurality of antennas includes antennas for different frequency bands. For example, the group of mobile endpoint devices may primarily be engaged in voice calls or data usage (e.g., utilizing a multimedia messaging application) which may warrant utilizing an antenna for the 850 MHz band or the 1900 MHz band, respectively. As such,optional step320 may comprise selecting an antenna for one of the frequency bands based upon such criteria.

Atstep325, the processor activates the first antenna at the first cell site of the cellular network associated with the first location, in response to detecting the group of mobile endpoint devices. For instance, the first antenna may be one of a plurality of antennas at the first cell site that may be deactivated, e.g., not in use and/or powered down, but which may be available to be activated and placed into service based upon a remote command from the processor.

Atoptional step330, the processor may allocate a first baseband unit of the cellular network to the first antenna, when the first antenna is activated. For instance, the first baseband unit may be selected from a baseband unit pool that may include a plurality of baseband units that may be assigned to different antennas/remote radio heads, at one or more cell sites/base stations. The first baseband unit may be located at a base of the first cell site, or may be located 20-80 kilometers or more away from the first cell site and the first antenna. In one example, the processor may further instantiate VNFs to function as routers, switches, gateways, and the like to ensure that sufficient backhaul resources are available for the traffic of the group of mobile endpoint devices.

Atstep335, the processor detects a movement of the group of mobile endpoint devices toward a second location. In one example, the movement of the group of mobile endpoint devices toward the second location is detected when a threshold number of endpoint devices from the group of mobile endpoint devices are present within a geofence associated with the second location, e.g., 25 percent of the group, 30 percent of the group, etc. The presence of the mobile endpoint devices at the second location may be determined using the same or similar information as discussed above, e.g., using GPS location readings, cellular base station triangulation techniques, RSSIs, the serving base stations/cell sites, nearby IEEE 802.11 access points or IEEE 802.15 beacons, and so forth.

Atstep340, the processor activates a second antenna at a second cell site of the cellular network associated with the second location, in response to detecting the movement of the group of mobile endpoint devices toward the second location. In one example, step340 may comprise the same or similar operations as discussed above in connection withstep325. For instance, the second antenna may be selected based upon a type of primary application being used by the group of mobile endpoint devices, an anticipated network load, etc.

Atoptional step345, the processor may allocate a second baseband unit of the cellular network to the second antenna, when the second antenna is activated. In one example,optional step345 may comprise the same or similar operations as discussed above in connection withoptional step330. In one example, the second baseband unit may be allocated from a same baseband unit pool as the first baseband unit. In another example, the second baseband unit may be allocated from a different baseband unit pool that may be physically located in a different location.

Atstep350, the processor deactivates the first antenna, in response to detecting the movement of the group of mobile endpoint devices heading toward the second location. In one example, step350 may be performed in coordination withstep340. In one example, step350 may be performed when the movement of the group of mobile endpoint devices toward the second location is detected and when a sufficient portion of the group of mobile endpoint devices has left the first location, e.g., when 60 percent of the group has moved to the second location or when 60 percent of the group has left the first location, and so forth.

Atoptional step355, the processor may deallocate the first baseband unit from the first antenna, when the first antenna is deactivated. As such, the first baseband unit may then be reassigned to a different antenna/remote radio head and/or shut down for an extended period of time to conserve power, and so on.

Followingstep350, or followingoptional step355, themethod300 may proceed to step395 where the method ends.

In addition, although not specifically specified, one or more steps, functions, or operations of themethod300 may include a storing, displaying and/or outputting step as required for a particular application. In other words, any data, records, fields, and/or intermediate results discussed in themethod300 can be stored, displayed, and/or outputted either on the device executing the respective method or to another device, as required for a particular application. Furthermore, steps, blocks, functions, or operations inFIG. 3 that recite a determining operation or Involve a decision do not necessarily require that both branches of the determining operation be practiced. In other words, one of the branches of the determining operation can be deemed as an optional step. Moreover, steps, blocks, functions, or operations of the above describedmethod300 can be combined, separated, omitted, and/or performed in a different order from that described above, without departing from the examples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 depicts a high-level block diagram of a computing device specifically programmed to perform the functions described herein. As depicted inFIG. 4, thesystem400 comprises one or more hardware processor elements402 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, or a multi-core processor), a memory404 (e.g., random access memory (RAM) and/or read only memory (ROM)), amodule405 for activating antennas based upon a location and a movement of a group of mobile endpoint devices, and various input/output devices406 (e.g., storage devices, including but not limited to, a tape drive, a floppy drive, a hard disk drive or a compact disk drive, a receiver, a transmitter, a speaker, a display, a speech synthesizer, an output port, an input port and a user input device (such as a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a microphone and the like)). Although only one processor element is shown, it should be noted that the computing device may employ a plurality of processor elements. Furthermore, although only one computing device is shown in the figure, if themethod300 as discussed above is implemented in a distributed or parallel manner for a particular illustrative example, i.e., certain steps of theabove method300, or theentire method300 is implemented across multiple or parallel computing devices, then the computing device of this figure is intended to represent each of those multiple computing devices.

Furthermore, one or more hardware processors can be utilized in supporting a virtualized or shared computing environment. The virtualized computing environment may support one or more virtual machines representing computers, servers, or other computing devices. In such virtualized virtual machines, hardware components such as hardware processors and computer-readable storage devices may be virtualized or logically represented.

It should be noted that the present disclosure can be implemented in software and/or in a combination of software and hardware, e.g., using application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), a programmable gate array (PGA) including a Field PGA, or a state machine deployed on a hardware device, a computing device or any other hardware equivalents, e.g., computer readable instructions pertaining to the method discussed above can be used to configure a hardware processor to perform the steps, functions and/or operations of the above disclosedmethod300. In one embodiment, instructions and data for the present module orprocess405 for activating antennas based upon a location and a movement of a group of mobile endpoint devices (e.g., a software program comprising computer-executable instructions) can be loaded intomemory404 and executed byhardware processor element402 to implement the steps, functions or operations as discussed above in connection with theillustrative method300. Furthermore, when a hardware processor executes instructions to perform “operations,” this could include the hardware processor performing the operations directly and/or facilitating, directing, or cooperating with another hardware device or component (e.g., a co-processor and the like) to perform the operations.

The processor executing the computer readable or software instructions relating to the above described method can be perceived as a programmed processor or a specialized processor. As such, thepresent module405 for activating antennas based upon a location and a movement of a group of mobile endpoint devices (including associated data structures) of the present disclosure can be stored on a tangible or physical (broadly non-transitory) computer-readable storage device or medium, e.g., volatile memory, non-volatile memory, ROM memory, RAM memory, magnetic or optical drive, device or diskette and the like. Furthermore, a “tangible” computer-readable storage device or medium comprises a physical device, a hardware device, or a device that is discemible by the touch. More specifically, the computer-readable storage device may comprise any physical devices that provide the ability to store information such as data and/or instructions to be accessed by a processor or a computing device such as a computer or an application server. As such, the use of the terms “computer-readable storage device” or “computer-readable storage medium” affirmatively exclude the scope of encompassing a signal per se.

While various embodiments have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not a limitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of a preferred embodiment should not be limited by any of the above-described example embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

Claims (20)

What is claimed is:

1. A device comprising:

a processor of a cellular network; and

a computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:

detecting a group of mobile endpoint devices associated with a first location;

activating a first antenna at a first cell site of the cellular network associated with the first location, in response to detecting the group of mobile endpoint devices;

detecting a movement of the group of mobile endpoint devices toward a second location;

activating a second antenna at a second cell site of the cellular network associated with the second location, in response to detecting the movement of the group of mobile endpoint devices toward the second location; and

deactivating the first antenna, in response to detecting the movement of the group of mobile endpoint devices toward the second location.

2. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

allocating a first baseband unit of the cellular network to the first antenna, when the first antenna is activated; and

deallocating the first baseband unit from the first antenna, when the first antenna is deactivated.

3. The device ofclaim 2, wherein the operations further comprise:

allocating a second baseband unit of the cellular network to the second antenna, when the second antenna is activated.

4. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the detecting the group of mobile endpoint devices associated with the first location comprises:

detecting a number of mobile endpoint devices greater than a threshold number of mobile endpoint devices having a same direction of movement and present within a geofence associated with the first location, wherein the number of mobile endpoint devices comprises the group of mobile endpoint devices.

5. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the movement of the group of mobile endpoint devices toward the second location is detected when a threshold number of mobile endpoint devices from the group of mobile endpoint devices are present within a geofence associated with the second location.

6. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

detecting a type of application being used by the group of mobile endpoint devices; and

selecting the first antenna at the first cell site for activation based upon the type of application.

7. The device ofclaim 6, wherein the first antenna is selected from among a plurality of antennas at the first cell site, wherein the plurality of antennas includes antennas for different frequency bands.

8. A method comprising:

detecting, by a processor of a cellular network, a group of mobile endpoint devices associated with a first location;

activating, by the processor, a first antenna at a first cell site of the cellular network associated with the first location, in response to detecting the group of mobile endpoint devices;

detecting, by the processor, a movement of the group of mobile endpoint devices toward a second location;

activating, by the processor, a second antenna at a second cell site of the cellular network associated with the second location, in response to detecting the movement of the group of mobile endpoint devices toward the second location; and

deactivating, by the processor, the first antenna, in response to detecting the movement of the group of mobile endpoint devices toward the second location.

9. The method ofclaim 8, further comprising:

allocating, by the processor, a first baseband unit of the cellular network to the first antenna, when the first antenna is activated; and

deallocating, by the processor, the first baseband unit from the first antenna, when the first antenna is deactivated.

10. The method ofclaim 9, further comprising:

allocating, by the processor, a second baseband unit of the cellular network to the second antenna, when the second antenna is activated.

11. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the detecting the group of mobile endpoint devices associated with the first location comprises:

detecting a number of mobile endpoint devices greater than a threshold number of mobile endpoint devices having a same direction of movement and present within a geofence associated with the first location, wherein the number of mobile endpoint devices comprises the group of mobile endpoint devices.

12. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the movement of the group of mobile endpoint devices toward the second location is detected when a threshold number of mobile endpoint devices from the group of mobile endpoint devices are present within a geofence associated with the second location.

13. The method ofclaim 8, further comprising:

detecting, by the processor, a type of application being used by the group of mobile endpoint devices; and

selecting, by the processor, the first antenna at the first cell site for activation based upon the type of application.

14. The method ofclaim 13, wherein the first antenna is selected from among a plurality of antennas at the first cell site, wherein the plurality of antennas includes antennas for different frequency bands.

15. A computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by a processor of a cellular network, cause the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:

detecting a group of mobile endpoint devices associated with a first location;

activating a first antenna at a first cell site of the cellular network associated with the first location, in response to detecting the group of mobile endpoint devices;

detecting a movement of the group of mobile endpoint devices toward a second location;

activating a second antenna at a second cell site of the cellular network associated with the second location, in response to detecting the movement of the group of mobile endpoint devices toward the second location; and

deactivating the first antenna, in response to detecting the movement of the group of mobile endpoint devices toward the second location.

16. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

allocating a first baseband unit of the cellular network to the first antenna, when the first antenna is activated;

deallocating the first baseband unit from the first antenna, when the first antenna is deactivated; and

allocating a second baseband unit of the cellular network to the second antenna, when the second antenna is activated.

17. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 15, wherein the detecting the group of mobile endpoint devices associated with the first location comprises:

detecting a number of mobile endpoint devices greater than a threshold number of mobile endpoint devices having a same direction of movement and present within a geofence associated with the first location, wherein the number of mobile endpoint devices comprises the group of mobile endpoint devices.

18. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 15, wherein the movement of the group of mobile endpoint devices toward the second location is detected when a threshold number of mobile endpoint devices from the group of mobile endpoint devices are present within a geofence associated with the second location.

19. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

detecting a type of application being used by the group of mobile endpoint devices; and

selecting the first antenna at the first cell site for activation based upon the type of application.

20. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 19, wherein the first antenna is selected from among a plurality of antennas at the first cell site, wherein the plurality of antennas includes antennas for different frequency bands.

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